Alric wrote:Also, I believe this was mentioned before but perhaps Nal'sarkoth squads/those with empaths could try to persuade some of the downtrodden poor of Felde to cause riots in order to draw guards away from the castle? I don't know if Felde has any sort of krypteia-style secret police, if they do we run the risk of being discovered before we can get into the castle.

Yeah, this was mentioned before. My own squad has an empath and Shar is more than happy to try and use his skills towards that end. If we can't start a riot then at the very least we might be able to get some material assistance or insider intel from them.

As part of the air assault team Fen Wolves will prepare by requesting the following supplies: Gliders, explosives that can be planted and detonated from a distance, ropes for climbing, smoke bombs and fire bombs, sealing strones, earth and air foci for those members without a natural specialty in that element (i.e. everyone except Kara and Go'dan respectively) masks for breathing and seeing underwater for each member and half a dozen flares for use in signaling the other squads if need arises. Once the operation commences the squad will aim towards the mountain with the goal of reaching the waterfall and gliding towards the tower. The squad will disguise ourselves as merchants for the initial approach and hide our armor under cloaks so as not to be immediately recognized, those of us with red highlights in our hair will cover them with other dye prior to leaving so our allegiance is not immediately obvious by sight alone. We will work with the other squads going up the mountain to maintain a low profile and avoid attracting unwanted attention on the way up. If we are spotted by any guards we will seek to immediately eliminate them before the alarm can be sounded and steal their uniforms for future use.

Sounds good to me so far, especially hiding the hair dye...though another option might be to wash our dye out completely, but that might make things hard for the artist "shrugs"

But yes, foci gems & explosives are a must, we'll be needing every variety of those to make it through this mission, floor dragons ain't getting us! u_u

As part of the air assault team Fen Wolves will prepare by requesting the following supplies: Gliders, explosives that can be planted and detonated from a distance, smoke and fire bombs, sealing stones, ropes for climbing, earth and air foci for those members without a natural specialty in that element (i.e. everyone except Kara and Go'dan respectively) masks for breathing and seeing underwater for each member and half a dozen flares for use in signaling the other squads if need arises. The squad will disguise ourselves as merchants for the initial approach to the mountain and hide our armor under cloaks so as not to be immediately recognized, those of us with red highlights in our hair will cover them with other dye prior to leaving so our allegiance is not immediately obvious by sight alone, with our supplies concealed in and packs under whatever cloth and miscellaneous goods we can obtain in case we are searched on the way up. Once the operation commences the squad will aim towards the mountain with the goal of reaching the waterfall and gliding towards the tower. We will work with the other squads going up the mountain to maintain a low profile and avoid attracting unwanted attention. If we are spotted by any guards we will seek to immediately eliminate them before the alarm can be sounded and steal their uniforms for future use.

A little summary of the initial options for approaches (as taken from the update):

1.The main road/lower wastes approach.2. Able to take the bridge route, or steal boats/swim between city and main tower.

1. The mountain approach, 2 options: climbing down into the city outskirts or gliding down from the waterfall.2.a When climbing able to steal boats/swim between the city and main tower or take the bridge route.2.b When gliding able to approach main tower directly.

1. Boat from the south side of the lake (1 squad only, taken by crossroads squad)2. able to access any tower/bridge reachable by boat.

In order to maximise effectiveness the stealthy squads could get some signal from the main attack once they get wrecking before they strike. This will be of importance especially to the gliders who would otherwise be easily targeted/isolated.

Alric wrote:Posting that the Marauders are planning to enter the castle through the main road. I'd prefer it if we weren't the only squad planning on doing so!

come now Tur'geis, surly you're all that's needed when attacking a heavily defended gate. You've Die' with you as well. (Reka will tell them there's booze on the other side. Goddess have mercy on all whom get in Tur and Die's way after that)

As far as I know we have not decided who is going to take Ariel with them, but I know that my own Freelancers will be marching with the Marauders and any other squads that wish to come with us through the wastes. This is what our initial action is as of right now.

The Freelancers will request for as many explosives, smoke bombs, earth and water foci that they are allowed to assist with the mission. The squad will also ensure their gas masks are in working order and that their weapons are properly prepared for the battles to come. Once ready the squad will begin marching to Felde through the lower wastes towards the main road. They will cooperate with any other squads taking this route and offer to take point so that Sharorvir can sense out any auras with his empathy, and Baerae can provide ranged capability for quickly eliminating guards.

First point I'd like to make is for everyone to REMEMBER THE FLARE SYSTEM!One flare = Come here!Two flares = Danger/Stay away!

Second point I'd like to make is that any squads braving the lake, particularly ones in boats, should consider their enemies below the surface. I'm not sure if the Ursula rejects are amphibious or completely aquatic, but either way it would be wise to try and remove them from the water. It's their native environment where they work best, so remove that strength from them if at all possible. Best case scenario they die from asphyxiation, worst case you manage to confuse them and get the upper hand for a brief moment. Water foci would be lovely for such things, much like sending a clay target down range during a shooting tournament. Line em up!

Or if things get too dicey just remember the timeless advice of King Arthur of Camelot.

Too bad Sil'lice isn't here, she could freeze any underwater threats. So, if the Marauders are taking the road to kick down the gate, is anyone going glider-bombing? I believe aerial bombardment of the airship, even if mana shielded, will attract all kinds of attention up to the airship platform, facilitating ground assault. We should strive to make the airship look like the primary target early on, as I feel the Sul sisters and any other high-level Nid would be eager to protect it. Thus, ground defenses might be left to Felde regulars, making it easier to storm the gates?

"Yes, off we go! Do please tell the Sarghress girl she can tag along, eh?"

After some deliberation and discussion with the rest of the squad, we decide to take the mountain pass. This is on account of our climbing gear that we used in the previous adventure; our gear would also help any other squads without gliders that are taking the mountain route. In addition, we decide to pass along an invitation to join us to the Little Wolf of the Sarghress Clan, in the spirit of cooperation and such. Eldri'caldeyi brings along the Golem Firestarter, just in case.

We will try to be swift and quiet as to avoid detection. If we come across any soldiers or guards native to Felde, we will try to kill them and get their gear without damage to the gear and without being seen. Since the waterfall would provide a straight route to the central island, we will try to find a place where we can swim across without too much trouble. Jhanzyr reaches out with his empathy periodically to see if he can detect any natives, and Ta'nisha uses her Earth sorcery to make the ground easier to navigate when necessary.

On our way, we try to gather up anything that might be worth something. Our squad has always been low on funds and anything we can sell would help that out quite a bit later on.

Note: We are trying to time our egress onto the island with the squads that are taking the front gate. We try to see if there are any boats on the far side that we can commandeer or otherwise get access to. Failing that, we'll try to swim across.

Uh...it's starting to sound like the three groups will be depending on the other groups to run interference for them so they can make it in. If all three groups wait for a distraction, it's not gonna work. We need to clarify who's going to hit first, make as much of a demonstration as possible to draw attention to themselves, to give the other two groups a chance to make it. As Alric suggested, the Air Group is in the unique position of having high speed, high visibility, and maneuverability to be the most effective distraction. Even if moored to the platform, the airship will probably be heavily defended, probably with mana shields. May I recommend at least half of the Air Group, if not the whole Group, conduct aerial bombardment on the airship itself. Kara has mentioned knocking some stalactites off the ceiling of the cave/cliff overhang over the tower island, but not sure how close those will land near the airship (if feasible, a few tons of rock ought to penetrate any mana shield, might actually damage that sucker). Even if ineffective, the fireworks will draw all eyes in Felde to the sky, probably the strongest Nids will be ordered to defend the airship. That might leave ground defense to Felde regulars, which will facilitate surface groups' storming the gates. If we choose to do this, Air Group will have to begin bombardment as early as possible, and keep this up for several minutes, for it to be an effective distraction. What do you think?

edit: Once the airship sets sail and joins the fight, we don't want the Nids to use it to plaster our surface groups, providing fire support for tower defenders. Therefore, we need to plan on taking out the airship. Perhaps Kara's strategy is best used in this operation. We split Air Group into two elements, one to bombard the airship and get it to follow them as they feign retreat. That element will draw the airship into a kill zone over the water, to avoid collateral damage and fratricide on the tower island itself. Once the airship is in position, the second element will drop the stalactites on the airship. If we hit it at high enough an altitude and break its back, the plummeting airship might take many powerful Nids with it to its watery grave.

By this time, both surface groups should have breached the tower defenses, drawing any remaining Nids downstairs to stop them. Both Air Group elements will then rally and land on the now-vacant airship platform, and storm the tower from above, catching the Nids in a vertical pincer: Air Group will be the hammer, surface groups will be the anvil. Once the Felde regulars and majority of Nids are neutralized, we can take our time to hunt down Snadhya with due diligence, minimizing casualties in the epic boss battle of the Moonless Age. What say you, Relic Hunters?

Airship's mana cannons fire to its flanks, it can't fire straight ahead or behind, or directly above or below. We can assume that any floaters will cover those dead zones. We also can't get too close to the airship, as I'm sure the Sul sisters will be aboard for close in defense. Therefore, the element that bombards the airship will have to stay ahead of the airship and floaters, which will limit enemy fire to whatever those on floaters can throw at us. The airship might be mana shielded, but I doubt those on floaters will be as well protected, which means explosives will have full effect on them. Alternatively, any of our Sharen sisters and brothers in arms who are capable of nether summoning could wreak havoc on mana-powered flyers like floaters and the airship, whereas our gliders have some natural aerodynamic qualities, so that's something to think about (setting summoning circles on those stalactites before dropping them on the airship might make a nasty WMD)